


A Change

by Alliance (Xazz)



Series: Cypress Hall [36]
Category: Flight Rising
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 23:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14987882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xazz/pseuds/Alliance





	A Change

There was a soft knock on the door but it still startled Aten. He almost dropped the knife he was holding that would have sliced his hand open. He quickly hid it away, putting it behind some of his things. Savathün didn’t allow weapons in the Warren. Elspeth had given it to him the last time she came which had been to take his niece away. He didn’t think about that and went to open the door. “Astra, hey,” he said when he saw his sister.

“Can I come in?” she asked quietly.

“Yes, of course,” he opened the door wider for her and she came inside. She glanced around before going and sitting on his bed. “What’s the matter?” he asked her.

She sighed deeply. “Azazel,” she said almost in a whisper.

Aten felt his hackles raise. “What did he do?”

“What do you think?” she gave him a sharp look. He couldn’t repress a growl that lodged itself in the back of his throat. He hated being powerless to protect his sister from that horrible warlock. Instead he just had to stand by and watch him hurt her until she said it was safe for Azazel to die. Aten had no idea when that would be. She sighed and looked away, rubbing the back of her neck and running her fingers through her perfect blonde hair. “I need you to do something for me,” she said.

“Of course, anything,” he went over to her. “What do you need me to do?”

“I want you to change what I look like,” she said.

“What? You can do that.”

She grimaced, “My mind and body know what I look like in this form. I tried changing what I look like but couldn’t. You could.”

Aten wrung his hands a little. “I don’t know. I’m not that good with magic.”

“You are,” she said and grabbed one of his hands gently. “You’re better than you realize.”

“No, I’m shit. My magic is shit,” he pulled his hand away from hers. He wasn’t good with magic at all. Sure he could do some transformation magic but Oryx always told him it was a waste of magic. Any dragon could do transformation magic and he rubbed Aten’s nose in it when his own toddler of a daughter had done a transformation that Aten had struggled to get right without even seeming to try. He wasn’t special like Astra or Killing who were so wonderful and powerful and could do anything. He was useless. “I don’t know what you think I can do for you,” his brow furrowed in a bit of a frown.

“You can,” she said and took his hand again. “I don’t like looking in the mirror and seeing the girl Azazel hurt,” she looked so sad saying that and Aten hated himself for his impotence. That he couldn’t help her. That he couldn’t protect his sister like she’d always done to him. “I want to be someone else.”

He sighed. “I— guess I could try something,” he said eventually. It was the least he could do. He looked her over and wasn’t sure what he could really do. His magic wasn’t so great he could overwrite the powerful shapeshifting magic. He could, at best, create a cosmetic difference. “You sure?”

“I trust you,” she said gently.

“Okay,” he swallowed nervously. “Well—“ he sighed out before touching the top of her head. Transformation wasn’t like other magic. There were no spells. It was like Wind magic. It just happened. He gently stroked her hair and where he ran his hand her pale blonde locks turned the red almost purple color of a garnet. He ran both his hands through her hair changing its color and as he ran his fingers through the ends lengthened and trailed down through his hands like silk. Once he’d change the entire thing he took his hands off her. “Well I did something,” he grimaced. He hoped she wasn’t angry because he’d made her look so different. It was just changing her hair but she looked like a different person.

She got up and went to a mirror to look at herself. “Oh,” she said and touched it tentatively. Aten shifted awkwardly while she inspected it. “It looks good, I hardly recognize myself,” she said and looked over her shoulder at him

“You really like it?” He felt so relieved.

“Yes,” she smiled at him brightly. “We hardly look like twins anymore. Or maybe more so now since our hair is nearly the same length,” she teased him. Aten just awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. It was hard to tell because he always wore it up but his own hair was very long, way longer than Astra kept hers usually. “Thank you. I feel better.”

“I’m glad,” he smiled hesitantly at her.

“I need to go though. I just got away from Savathün but she’s expecting me back.”

“Okay. You sure you’re okay?”

Her smile was thin. “I will be,” she said. “Thanks again,” and she left. He sighed deeply once the door was closed.


End file.
